The umbilicus is perhaps the only scar that all of us want. The umbilicus forms after birth as a result of the placental cord being transected as the infant is “detached” from his/her mother. As the stump of the cord necroses, the scab falls away as the base heals leaving a scar: the umbilicus.

The umbilicus has been described as a depressed scar surrounded by a natural skin fold that measures 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter and lies anatomically within the midline at the level of superior iliac crest.

Neoumbilicoplasty in simple terms is the creation or reconstruction of a new umbilicus to replace the missing or deformed umbilicus. (absence of defined umbilicus, photo credit) Read more »

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